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Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Posted by October 6th, 2007 at 12:00 am

Categories

Hornworms

what is it
can you identifi this caterpiller we live in alicante spain i have 3 of the on a purlple trumpet like plant. REGARDS
LAURENCE & ELAINE

deathshead cat Deaths Head Hawkmoth Caterpillardeathshead cat 2 Deaths Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Hi Laurence and Elaine,
This is a Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar, Acherontia atropos. It is a species surrounded by myth and superstition, including its appearance in the book and movie “Silence of the Lambs”. We located a wonderful website called Sphingidae of the Western Paleoarctic that has images and information.

Update
October 15, 2009
Hi Daniel,
Hope things are good at your end.  I was wondering about why the Death’s Head Hawkmoth citation wasn’t placed in the “Tasty Morsels” category with previous listings.
Thanks,
Dave

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